Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in St. Louis Missouri to Italian immigrant parents. He started playing baseball in the local legion leagues, where he learned the fundamentals of batting and catching.

Originally, Yogi Berra was overlooked by the St. Louis Cardinals in favor of his friend Joe Garagiola Sr., however that was some tricky business. Then president of the Cardinals Branch Rickey, knew he was going to be taking over the Brooklyn Dodgers the following season. He was so impressed with Berra that he was attempting to save him and sign him in Brooklyn as soon as he moved teams.